


Once Again

by Jezmaiya (Im_Chamsae)



Series: An Ode to Kuroko Tetsuya [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Betrayal, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Female Kuroko Tetsuya, Heartbreak, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Out of Body Experiences, Reunions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24455773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_Chamsae/pseuds/Jezmaiya
Summary: A single car crash is all it takes for Kuroko Tetsumi's world to come crashing down. When given a choice to live or die: she reevaluates her relationships and choices, and begins to realize that her supposedly 'perfect' world is not as pure as she had always perceived it to be. So in the end, will she choose to stay, or leave?(An 'If I Stay' Adaptation with a twist.)
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou/Kuroko Tetsuya, Aomine Daiki/Kuroko Tetsuya, Aomine Daiki/Momoi Satsuki, Kagami Taiga & Kuroko Tetsuya, Kuroko Tetsuya & Kise Ryouta, Kuroko Tetsuya & Momoi Satsuki & Aomine Daiki, Kuroko Tetsuya & Ogiwara Shigehiro & Takao Kazunari, One-sided Kise Ryouta/Kuroko Tetsuya
Series: An Ode to Kuroko Tetsuya [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766797
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	1. 00:00

**Author's Note:**

> One of my older stories posted on Fanfiction.net.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A funeral, an accident and a once in a life-time offer.

They say it only takes one second for your entire life to change.

One moment, one event to change the complete path of your destiny.

Well, she never really believed how true that was until now…

“Kuroko Tetsumi, your time is up: Do you wish to live or die?”

Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

.

.

.

**_Once Again._ **

* * *

  
  
The wake and burial had been a solemn affair, it wasn’t anything grand or spectacular – no, it was a simple, quiet one. Just like how Grandmother Kuroko had been.

It was one that Grandmother Kuroko would have appreciated to have organised for her. Her passing had been sudden, one that nobody would have expected to happen so soon. One day she was there, the next, she was gone. The funeral took place in grandmother’s hometown, it was a beautiful place where Grandmother Kuroko had been born and raised in. She had lived there for a majority of her life until grandfather passed before she decided to move to Tokyo where my father, her only son, lived to fill in the void that her husband had left in her heart. Secretly, I had hoped that perhaps the passing of my grandmother would have ceased the tension that had been building up between my parents.

Selfish of me? I know.

My teal eyes flickered over to where they stood, speaking to other relatives, their backs faced each other. The large gap between their standing figures was evident and it was obvious to everyone that their once sweetened relationship had strained and gone sour. Things had become rather difficult at home lately, and I had hoped that the grief would have brought them close together again.

I was wrong.

“It must be hard on you, Tetsumi,” A thin hand slide itself onto my shoulder, I resisted my instinct to jump from the sudden touch as I forced a smile onto my lips, turning to face the middle-aged woman. “You were very close and dear to her.”

Ah, it was her.

“Yes,” I replied, a small sad smile taking over my expression as my lips turned downwards slightly. “It is unfortunate.” It was no secret to anyone that I had an incredibly close relationship with my grandmother. “I had hoped that she would have lived to see my graduation.” I admitted, sadly.

The middle-aged woman sighed, “Well life doesn’t always work in our favour, dear.” I nodded. Her eyes drifted over to my parents before she forced a fake smile onto her lips. “Well, it was nice seeing you again,” her face flickered to where her husband stood, waiting by their car. “Goodbye, Tetsumi, dear.” She embraced me in a brief hug before pulling away.

“Goodbye, Aunt Hisako.”

I watched her leave before my gaze flickered back to my parents, “What a heartless girl.”

My ears perked from Aunt Hisako’s comment.

Discretion had never been her strongest trait. “I tried to extend my kindness to her, and never once did she smile back gratefully at me. Her face never changes, it’s always so blank. What a cold-hearted grandchild.” Muttered the woman under her breath as she got into the car with her husband. “That family won’t last.” She was just like the rest of them, faking their grief. Always trying to score brownie points in order to get a cut of the family inheritance, never truly expressing what they really felt.

I didn't understand people like them, why did they even bother coming to the funeral if they didn’t truly grieve the loss of a loved one?

At the sounds of their car engine starting reached my ears, I let out a breath of relief. ‘Good riddance.’ My eyes watched the vehicle as it drove away.

My hands dug into the pocket of my black dress as I took out my phone, flipping it open as I stared at my inbox.

Nothing.

No new messages.

‘Aomine-kun and Momoi-san must be busy.’ My mind wandered to my boyfriend and my best friend, who was also his childhood friend.

It wasn’t odd for them not to message me at times, after all, they were often busy doing their own things. Aomine had basketball club commitments as a member of the first string, and so did Momoi as the club’s manager. It was fine, I understood that we all had things to prioritise at times. Shutting my phone, I returned it back to my pocket as I made my way towards my parents.

“Shall we go home now?” I asked, speaking up once the noticed that last person has departed.

My mother jumped from my sudden appearance as she spun to face me.

“Oh, Tetsumi, dear,” she said, turning to look at me. “Why don’t you go ahead first?” She asked me, her eyes flickering over to my father who was busy attending to a phone call. From his expression, I could tell that he was slightly panicked. She frowned, her lips forming a thin line as she watched him speak. “Your father and I have some business to still attend to.” She stated, her eyes flickered back to the man.

Lie.

She just wanted me away from them when she tore into him about that phone call.

She was always like this, pushing me away from the conflict. Just like Grandmother Kuroko had done but at the end of the day, I wasn’t a child anymore. I could clearly see with my own two eyes what was happening between them.

“We called a cab for you.” Her eyes looked over my head, I turned as I watched the taxi enter the premises. “Look, there it is.”

It was parked at the entrance, the driver remained in the front seat, waiting.

“Okay,” I replied, turning. There was no point in arguing with her, she wouldn’t change her mind anyway. I might as well leave and get an early start tomorrow. “I’ll call you and father once we reach Tokyo first, and then later when I get home.” I told her, my mother smiled at me, placing a hand on her cheek.

“Thank you, Tetsumi.” She told me, leaning down to kiss me on my forehead. “You’re always so understanding, such a good girl. You took good care of your grandmother, and I know she’s looking down at you, watching over you right now.” She whispered soothingly into my ear. That brought a smile to my lips, it was such a contrasting statement to what Aunt Hisako had said about me. Then again, that woman didn’t really know me, we seldom ever met outside of family affairs. “You should probably say goodbye to your father before you leave.”

My eyes glanced back over to the man, he was still preoccupied with his phone call. His face looked exasperated as he spoke into the device with urgency. Mother’s lips formed a thin line once more in annoyance, “It’s alright, he seems busy.” I protested, his eyes met mine as he lifted his hand to wave goodbye, I waved back. That should suffice. Glancing back at my mother’s face, it was clear that she was still not pleased, but it’s not like I could do anything about his phone call. “I should get going, it’s rude to keep the driver waiting.” I gave her a small hug before making my way to ride.

“Be safe, take care.” Said mother. “I’ll see you at home then.”

“Will do.” I called back monotonously.

When I reached the taxi, I opened the door and slide into the back seat.

The driver glanced at the back seat questioningly with confused eyes, orbs squinted together, ‘Of course…’ “I’m here.” The man jumped at hearing my voice as he readjusted the mirror, pointing it directly at me as I stared back at him. My winter coat folded neatly on my lap. Despite the weather, I saw no reason to wear my coat. It may have seemed odd, but the cold had been rather soothing on this depressing day. My gaze redirected to look out of the window, father had just gotten off the phone. Mother was already on him as she strolled up to him, her face turning into a frown, it wouldn’t be long before they started arguing now. “It’s just me, we can go.” I told him. ‘Please leave now…’

The driver stared out of his window, he must have seen the same thing and read the atmosphere. “I get you, kid,” he replied as his hands moved to the wheel. The car moved slowly as it backed out of the cemetery. “Fighting is normal between married couples all the time, but that didn’t look like it was going to be the usual kind of marriage fight. It’s best to get out before things get messy.” Advised the man, he glanced back at me from the mirror. “You seem pretty used to it though,” he commented.

That was accurate.

“So, how long has this been going on for?”

He was also pretty sharp, and a little bit too nosy.

“As an expert on matters like these, you should be well aware about how sensitive and private matters like these are kept from the ears of children, and outsiders.” I told him, my eyes narrowed as they stared back at his reflection, our gazes met. “I'd prefer not to say.”

That only led the man to smile at me, he didn’t say anymore as his focus returned to the winter road.

Ice lightly dusted the car’s paths as rows of snow covered rice fields passed by the window, catching my eyes. “It must be a snow day.” I noted, lowly.

The snow only seemed to cover the surface of the rice fields, I bet it was still muddy beneath the surface. Mud was thicker than water after all, it wouldn’t freeze as easily.

“Yes, it is,” replied the man sitting behind the driving wheel. “All schools in this area had been cancelled, but I don’t think that’s the case for your school since you’re in Tokyo. A little snow wouldn’t slow down anything.” That was true, it was easier to get around and travel about in the cities compared to rural places like these, that sat on the outskirts of the city. “Say, which school do you study at, Miss? If you don’t mind telling this outsider that little piece of information.”

That last part brought a small smile to my lips, at least I knew he wasn’t offended by my previous defensive remark. It might have come off as incredibly rude to some people, but I’m pleased to know that he wasn’t bothered by it. “Touo,” I answered, “I study at Touo Gakuen.” I turned towards the front, my eyes pulling away from the window as I met his kind warm gaze.

The man was smiling, “Sounds like a good school.” He told me.

Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all, he was just trying to make small talk to make this journey a little easier. Lighten the atmosphere a bit.

“It is –LOOK OUT!” The words came flying out of throat before I knew what was happening.

The car that came from the opposite lane had begun to spin out of control, the ice beneath the wheel must have been too slippery for the driver to handle. The vehicle before us spun, it’s wheels moving out of control before shifting its path into our lane as the car headed straight for us. The road was empty, we were the only the vehicle for miles around, but it was also incredibly narrow. The driver gripped tightly onto the wheel as he tried to drive the taxi around the oncoming car, the movement was so sudden that I felt my body slam against the window. Just when I thought we had avoided the oncoming danger, the worst was yet to come as the cab flew off the path of the road as the ice below had deterred the direction of the wheels beneath us.

“Shit!” 

My eyes shut as I felt my heart soar out of my chest as our vehicle flew forward into the rice fields below. What happened next?

_I don’t know._

I don’t remember experiencing it at all, but when I opened my eyes…

I was standing outside in the snow.

My eyes gazed back to where two ambulances and various police cars were parked on the road, people were scattered everywhere. ‘We were driving up there a few moments ago…’ I turned forward, ‘But then we flew off the road where we should have landed… somewhere over here…’ There were people surrounding the wreckage of what I could only identify to be the taxi that I had previously been sat in. The vehicle was half sunken in the mud of the rice field, windows cracked as it was all scratched up at its sides.

Oh no…

‘The driver!’ I looked around, spotting for the kind man who had been driving me. I couldn’t see him, where was he? I wanted to shout his name from the top of my lungs, but wait… ‘I don’t even know his name…’

“He’s gone.” That statement caught my ears as I turned around to stare at a group of medics behind me, they stood overlooking something. My blue eyes squinted as I noticed a shoeless pair of feet between the legs of the medics– a body. My blood turned cold in an instance.

‘No… please don’t let it be me…’ My feet moved forward.

They were slow steps at first, but gradually I found myself taking longer strides before I stood behind them. I held my breath as I found the courage to peek in between the gap of the two medics, and look at the body.

It wasn’t me… it was the driver.

They had covered his face with a white cloth, but I could still identify him through the clothes he had worn. “So, he’s dead?” I asked.

There was no response.

I turned to the medic, my finger lightly tapped the man’s shoulder. He didn’t turn. That was odd. Even with my low presence, they would still have noticed me by now. “Excuse me, sir.” I tried once more, but he still didn’t notice.

The medic continued to speak to his colleague, “he was gone before we even pulled him out of the wreckage.” That caught my attention. Wait a minute…

How did I get out?

No matter how hard I thought about it…

I don’t remember ever getting out of the car…

“How’s the other passenger from the taxi?” Asked the man.

“They’re taking a look at her now,” answered the other. The medic jabbed his thumb to another circle of people, except this group of medics were more frantic and in a rush. “The cops have been trying to call her parents. Don’t know how they’re going to explain this though. Two car crashes, both vehicles landed on the opposite sides after slipping off the main road.”

“Did they find a phone?”

“One of the medics just found it in the dress pocket a while back.” That sounded exactly like where I put my phone. I found myself moving towards the other group of medics, they were rushing about with equipment, one man was preparing a stretcher.

‘Please,’ I didn’t realise I was begging. ‘Please let it be the person in the other car…’ I caught my breath as I stared at the face clasped between the palms of the medic.

“No…” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

That… is that me?

… that can’t be me, I mean, she looks like me with that teal hair, and that black dress she was wearing, but how can that be me? I was standing right here in front of them.

“That’s not me.” I whispered.

Why couldn’t they hear me? “I’m right here.”

Unless… ‘I’m dead?’

The medic that had been clasping my face ushered for her co-workers to bring the stretcher closer to the body, “easy does it,” she told them. “We don’t want to risk breaking anything else in this girl’s frail body.” I watched as they carefully lifted my body off the ground before sliding me onto the stretcher. I looked like a battered ragged doll. “Get her to the hospital now!” The same medic ordered as she jogged beside my body, they moved further away from me.

Wait, where were you going? Where are you taking my body?

I ran after them as they climbed back up to the road where the ambulances were parked, they placed the stretcher in one of them. I crawled as quickly as I could into the back of the ambulance with the medic who had been watching over me, I watched her caress my face. Her eyes stared down at me with pity, “You’re going to be alright.” She told me. “You’re lucky to have survived that crash, you were the only one who did. Now, just hold on a little bit longer.”

‘What about the other car?’

I glanced back out at the other side, it was too far away for me to make anything out but I could see a group of medics down there. What happened to the other person?

The engine began, and soon we were moving away from the scene, leaving everything behind.

* * *

The moment we had arrived at our destination, I found myself running to keep up with the group of medics as they carted me to the Emergency room. They couldn’t see me at all, and it wasn’t just my low presence anymore –they really couldn’t see me. It was as though I did not exist at all, I was like a ghost now.

“Doctor Midorima!” One of the nurses called out as a man dressed from head to toe in blue surgical scrubs stepped through the door, the only visible feature I could see were his green eyes from beneath the spectacles he wore.

“Everyone get to their stations, we’ll start by stabilizing her condition first,” he ordered as everyone in the room immediately moved. I wasn’t a doctor, nor a medical student, so I didn’t fully grasp the medical terms or things that were thrown around in the air, but I did understand one thing – they were trying to save me.

“Her left lung is punctured!”

“There are various spinal fractures here and here!”

“Minor concussion sustained, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of internal bleeding in the brain.”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from them as they surrounded me, but I wasn’t so curious to step closer and see what they were doing to me either.

The man, the main doctor, Doctor Midorima, I couldn’t help but watch as he worked tirelessly to fix whatever had been damaged from that accident inside me. He was really dedicated to his work… but I couldn’t help but feel sad for him, ‘How many times a day does he have to go through this? How many people has he operated on so far today…’ I watched his hands move as the nurses aided him, handing him tools after tool. He looked exhausted, his eyes… pitiful.

Just like the medic in the ambulance with me.

‘Do I look that sad? Or… is it because you don’t think I’ll survive this operation?’ Surely, someone like him whose completed so many operations would have experienced failure before. ‘They don’t all make it, do they?’

“Prepare her a room in the ICU,” ordered Doctor Midorima, when the operation was all over.

How long had it been? I had been so captivated by the entire process that I had completely loss my sense of time.

“There will be no visitations allowed until tomorrow morning.” The man removed his mask and the blue cap that he had been wearing to reveal a mop of dark green hair. The rest of the staff left the room, probably to prepare whatever it was he wanted. It was just the two of us left, the man looked down at me, why wouldn’t he?

Even I couldn’t believe that was me.

There was a tube stuck down my mouth, my neck in a brace as a blanket had been pulled up to my chest, but even I could spot the bandages beneath it.

"I’ve done all that I can do for you, Kuroko Tetsumi,” he spoke.

It felt as though he knew I was there, but he obviously couldn’t have, his gaze was looking down at my unconscious, sleeping face. If he was aware of my presence, he would be looking back up at the space across him, on the other side of my sleeping body, where I currently stood. “Now it’s all up to you,” he told me, he removed his rubber surgical gloves, and held them with a tissue. “Whether you want to stay in this world, or leave.”

The doors opened as a group of nurses began to cart me away but I waited, I wanted to see if he was going to say anything else but he didn’t. The man turned away, he didn’t look back as the nurses took me away, he simply disposed the gloves.

“I pity you.” I told him, but he didn’t react, of course he wouldn’t, ‘He probably didn’t even hear me.’

I chased the group out of the room, searching for the nurses who were moving me. I ran, of course I couldn’t exactly catch up to them, I wasn’t the fastest girl in the world and my sports abilities always had been below average but I made it, slipping into the ICU room just as they began to attach me to all sorts of machines. I must have been the only one here, the rest of the beds seemed empty.

“Tetsumi!” A familiar voice screamed, that sounded just like my mother.

“You can’t go in there!” Another voice yelled, it sounded like it was coming from the hallway outside the ICU.

“That’s my baby inside there!” There was a commotion outside the doors of the ICU. I couldn’t see clearly but it looked like a bunch of nurses were holding back my mother.

I ran to the door, my hands pressed against the glass panels of the doors as I stared at my mother’s frantic face. I tried to push the handle of the door down but my hands instantly went through, I couldn’t do anything. My fist pounded against the door, the door shook but only I seemed to notice them move.

“Let me see her! Please! I’m her mother! I brought her into this world!”

“Let me out!” The words exclaimed from my mouth as I stared back at the nurses in the ICU, but they didn’t seem to moving at all from their desk. ‘They’re not going to do anything.’

Hospital security rounded the corners of the corridors as they headed straight to where my mother was, they paused behind the barricade of nurses holding back my mother. The head security guard seemed to be engaging in a conversation with my father, the expression he wore on his face, it wasn’t one I had ever seen him wear at home. A sense of urgency was evidently present on his face as he spoke fiercely to the security guard. ‘Mother…’ She looked on the brink of breaking down as tears streamed down from her cheeks, it brought a stabbing pain to my heart as I watched her. ‘They want to see me…’ I banged my fist against the door, my forehead pressed against the glass as I stared at them out there, fighting for the right to see me. “Just let them in… please…”

“TETSU!” My ears perked up at the voice, how could he be here?

My head rose as I spotted a familiar dark blue head appear beside my mother. “TETSU!” He yelled again as he tried to force his way through the staff, “Let me see her, that’s my girlfriend in there!” Aomine snapped at the staff.

A pink head appeared beside him, ‘Momoi-san!’ They both came!

Momoi pouted as she turned to her childhood friend. “Dai-chan, stop it! I know you want to see her, we both do.” She scolded him loudly, placing a hand on his arm as she tried to get him to stop resisting the people.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying so clearly as their voices lowered down, but it looked as though the security guard had gotten fed up with the situation as he ordered some of the male nurses to escort them away.

“Wait, where are you taking them?” They looked as though they were putting up a fight. My eyes widened in horror and mortification as I watched one male nurse forcefully grab my mother as they started to carry her away. My father yelled at them, but they grabbed his wrist, binding him as they forced him to follow the head security guard. “LET THEM GO!” I screamed, I couldn’t watch them get hurt. ‘Don’t they understand?! They just want to see me! They have the right to see me, I’m their daughter! Their only daughter!’ “Please, stop! You’re hurting them!” I could hear myself pleading.

Clearly it wasn’t just me getting enraged from this scene.

Aomine’s fist lashed out as it hit the head security guard’s chin, knocking the older man down to the ground. “Let them go! We don’t need to be treated like criminals.” Roared Aomine, in rage.

Everything quickly escalated out of control, and I couldn’t do anything but watch.

A bunch of male nurses who had been on standby came running, they tackled Aomine to the ground as they began to pile on him, drawing a strong reaction from Momoi.

“Get off him! Get off, Dai-chan!” Her voice echoed through the glass of the door clearly.

Aomine didn’t seem to want to go down easily without a fight as he kicked about, throwing punches back at them.

“What is going on here?” A strong voice demanded, catching everyone’s attention. I looked around before I spotted the newcomer to the scene. He wasn’t wearing those operation garments anymore, instead he looked more refined in his office clothes and white lab coat. “This is a hospital,” he reaffirmed firmly, pushing his glasses up his nose with one bandaged hand. “Not a zoo.” He stared hard at the group on the floor.

“Our apologies, Director Midorima!” Exclaimed the head security guard, his hands nursing his injured chin as he scrambled off the ground. “These visitors were just leaving.” He told the man.

‘Director Midorima?’ But hadn’t he just been another doctor working here?

The man, now identified as Director Midorima, to his staff, who was also known as Doctor Midorima glanced down at the scene, his careful eyes flickered at my parents before they shifted to the direction of the ICU as though he was assessing the situation. “You are Kuroko Tetsumi’s parents.” He identified as my mother nodded.

“We have to see her! Please let us inside, Director!” Pleaded my mother.

The man shook his head. “I’m afraid that we had just gotten her condition to stabilise,” he informed them. “I am not so cruel that I will not restrict you from seeing your daughter,” stated the man. “However, visitation times for the ICU is limited and very restricted. Not to mention that it ended an hour ago, and I do not intend to break protocol.” My mother looked crestfallen, this man had been her only hope. “But… seeing as she is the only one in the ICU at the moment, and a minor, I will allow any guest to visit her and stay by her side starting tomorrow morning. She needs the night to rest alone first.” With that the man turned, he walked towards me, towards the ICU.

Wait! What about now though?

The nurses dragged Aomine off the ground, one stood on each side of him as they clasped onto each of his arms, proceeding to drag him away. “Let me go! I can walk by myself.” He exclaimed as the nurses escorted him away. Where were they taking them now?

“After the stunt you just pulled, there’s no way I’m letting you walk out of here unsupervised, kid.” Retaliated the head security guard, the man was obviously still bitter about the punch Aomine had managed to land on him. “C’mon, you can all go home now and come back tomorrow morning or you can stay the night in the visitor’s lounge.” He told them sternly.

They were moving further and further away from my sight, I couldn’t see them anymore as they rounded the corner of the corridor. ‘No! Let me out of here!’

Director Midorima reached the ICU's door. As the man entered the ICU, I squeezed past him, barely managing to escape the closing door as I dashed down the hallway where they had been previously. Turning the corner, I was met with another empty corridor.

‘Where did he take them?’

I looked around for a sign, or some indicator of where they went. He had said something about the visitor’s lounge, right? My ears twitched as I heard a faint yell, that sounded like Aomine. My body ran off in the direction the noise came from, I had to see him.

Another dead end…

Didn’t this place have signs?

My teal blue eyes narrowed as I stood in the middle of a crossroad path. Three different routes, now which one should I pick…

“Hey there!” I ignored the greeting, it was probably targeted for someone else.

“Um… I was taking to you, Kuroko Tetsumi.”

My eyes widened as my body halted, I felt my head snap to the source of the direction standing behind me. My body whirled around as I stared at the girl.

Chestnut brown hair that reached her chin, brown eyes, a high school uniform? ‘Is she an actual ghost?... Or is she like me?’

The girl smiled, “Great! Now that I’ve captured your attention, my name is Aida Riko, and I’m your Heavenly judge.” She introduced herself with a smile.

Silence.

I didn’t react, instead, I remained froze in stupor, even more confused by the turn of events. ‘Heavenly judge?’ Nothing was making sense, the fact that I could see my lifeless body didn’t even make sense to me. Now a heavenly judge?

Riko sighed, “As you may or have not realised by now, you survived that car crash that threw your taxi off the road. The other guy, not so lucky and well, he’s already gone up to heaven. Now, you, on the other hand, are currently stuck between both the worlds.” Explained the girl. “Your body survived the crash, but it didn’t exactly come out of it unscratched and it’s in a pretty bad situation right now, which is why your soul refused to inhabit in it. So, in short, you’re in a coma.” She told me. “Now, the doctors can do whatever they want to stabilize you, and keep it running and functioning, but at the end of the day – it all comes down to your choice.”

‘The same words that Doctor Midorima had uttered.’ My orbs widened in recognition. “Doctor Midorima…”

Riko smirked, “Midorima Shintarou experienced the very same thing you did twelve years ago, only it hadn’t been from a car crash, but a life-threatening operation that his father had to perform on him.” Informed the brunette. “He made it of course, was the fastest one to escape this outer body state.”

“Does everyone in a coma experience this then?” I asked her, out of curiosity.

Riko shook her head, “I’m afraid only special cases experience this.” She told me, her eyes stared at me seriously.

‘Special cases?’

“Let me ask you this,” began Riko, her tone changed, it felt heavier now. “If you had to choose: would you choose to continue living in this world, with the life you have now, or will you pass away, and die?”

That wouldn’t be a hard decision, “Of course, I would choose to continue living.” I told her, firmly. “I like my life. My parents love me, and I have a caring boyfriend and best friend who came all the way to the hospital to see me… Why wouldn’t I choose to live?” As I spoke, I remembered the scene outside the ICU so vividly.

They loved me, and they wanted to see me… and I wanted to see them again!

Riko’s smile never flattered. “You don’t have to give me your final answer now, Kuroko Tetsumi.” She said, the girl started walking. She brushed past me, before choosing to take the path on my left. “But let me ask you one little thing: are you so sure that your life is as 'perfect' as you have always perceived it to be?” She started walking away from me. “Maybe you should take a look more closely at things one more time before you give me your final answer okay? After all,” She turned with a smirk. “Looks can be very deceiving.”

With that, she rounded the end of the corridor, my feet followed her.

“Wait,” I cried out, I didn’t want to choose later, I wanted to choose now. “I already know my answer, just let me wake up already!” I called as I reached the end of the corridor and turned, but there was no one. Where did she go? Oh wait, my eyes stared up at the sign hanging by an area, ‘Visitor’s Lounge’. I felt the excitement build up in my chest as I began to jog towards the area, my ears perked up as I heard familiar voices, the exact words were muffed but it sounded like them. ‘Yes, they have to still be there!’

_“No, Dai-chan, we’re in public! Someone could see us any time!”_

_“Really, Satsuki? Are you really going to complain about that now when we’ve done this so many times in public before?”_

_“Yeah, but…”_

My feet slowed as my jog had been reduced to gradual steps, my body felt cold as I registered the words…

'What?'


	2. 01:00

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secrets spill...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer to edit than usual.

As my feet edged closer and closer to them, I felt my heart sink lower and deeper into my chest.

As much as I didn’t want to face the truth of reality, there was simply something compelling me to keep going. To edge a little closer…

‘What’s going on…’

As they finally came into clear view, my throat felt tight, squeezing out all the air in my lungs.

I couldn’t breathe.

Instead, it felt more like I was suffocating.

Suffocating from the betrayal painted right before me…

Aomine’s tanned arms, ones that had often wrapped themselves affectionately around my shoulders and neck whenever we were together, were now wrapped around Momoi’s slim waist as he brought her closer to his body whilst she sat on his lap. Her face tilted upwards, as his leaned down to meet her lips. Her hands wrapped around his neck as her pale fingers tugged affectionately on his dark blue hair, their lips continued to mould together as they sat in the darkest corner of the visitor’s lounge.

I couldn’t look away from them.

It felt so wrong for me to watch, it felt as though I was invading their privacy… yet at the same time, I felt like I did deserve the right to watch them – after all, this was my boyfriend and my best friend.

Or so I thought…

As if sensing my abnormal presence, Aomine briefly pulled away to reveal’s Momoi’s hotly flushed face. His expression looked pained, guilty from his actions.

“… We shouldn’t be doing this, Satsuki,” said Aomine, his eyes looking around his ‘so-called’ empty surroundings. It was late, there were practically no visitors in the hospital by now. “Not when Tetsu’s…” His voice trailed off as Momoi placed a slender finger against his lips, her eyes lightly glazed.

“You never had a problem whenever we were doing this before, Dai-chan,” Said Momoi, her hands moving to clasp his face as she leaned in for another peck on his lips. There it was, the affectionate nickname that she held for him, and only him. “Why are you so shy right now? You were the one who wanted it first this time? After all, you’re always the one who starts it.” Asked his childhood friend, her pink eyes never leaving his as she pulled away for a brief moment. “Don’t stop.” The whisper left her pink lips, her eyes gazing into his lustfully.

Seeing them like this, it just reminded me of the special bond they had as childhood friends. Even when I started dating Aomine, I always knew that he would always have an untouchable connection to Momoi regardless of our romantic relationship, and I accepted that fact. They’ve been friends for so long, they practically grew up together, going to the same elementary and middle school together, and now high school. There was no chance of me severing that string that held them together, and this was just proof of it.

Aomine hesitated to answer her, even if he did want to stop, it was clear to me that his body said otherwise as his hands still held firmly onto her waist. His fingers clamped tightly onto her waist before unclasping themselves, he looked unsure.

Why did he look unsure?

Wasn’t it obvious that this was wrong, and that he shouldn’t be doing this when he already had a girlfriend?

A girlfriend that needed him right now…

It was like he heard my pleas, he tsked before finally dropping his hands to his sides as he shook his head, “This feels so wrong, I can’t do this right now.” He told her, his hands moving to gently move her off his lap. He looked ashamed, horrified by what he was doing. A tinge of regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry I suddenly came onto you, Satsuki.” He muttered.

Momoi’s eyes narrowed, the dazed expression previously adorning her features were gone. She slapped his hands away as she sat firmly on his lap, refusing to move off him. “Why are you acting like you actually care about her?” Asked the girl, her irritation and annoyance finally revealing itself. “It’s not like you were actually dating her seriously to begin with.” She told him, her hands balled into fist. “Weren’t you the one who told me that you didn’t want to be tied down in the first place, Dai-chan?” Snapped Momoi, her hands on her waist as she frowned down at him. “Didn’t you say it yourself that you wanted to play the field and have fun with other girls?” She didn’t stop, she just kept going.

She kept spilling the secrets, all the little black secrets that I never knew.

“Girls who will actually let you touch them the way you want to. Whenever you wanted to.”

Aomine didn’t say anything, he didn’t even deny it. Instead, he just looked away from her, his hand moved to scratch his head. He didn’t even defend himself against her claims.

‘Sex.’

It was something that I had never really been comfortable with, but it was probably because I just wasn’t ready to take the plunge – to give that sacred part of me away to someone else.

Listening to them talk now… Somehow, I felt a little relieved that I never crossed that line with him, no matter how much it ached my heart, because in the end: I truly did love him.

He was my first relationship, and looking at my situation right now… he might be my only relationship.

But thinking back, I did suspect that he secretly desired to overcome that boundary in our relationship, after all, sex was something Aomine was always openly been interested in it (he spent almost all of his monthly pocket money on Mai books, worshipping them like national treasures). I’ll admit that we touched a bit, made out from time to time when the mood felt right, but that was the furthest we would ever go and Aomine was okay with it. He told me that he would wait until I was ready.

At least now I know why he settled with patiently waiting for me, because whenever I refused to go further with him, he only had to go to Momoi instead to get what he wanted. She would be there to satisfy his needs.

‘I was stupid,’ I reprimanded myself, my arms huddled around my body unconsciously as though I was shielding myself from the truth. ‘Why couldn’t I have realised this sooner?’ When I think back about this all… it actually made sense. All those times they were both busy, so this is what they had been up to.

My mind flickered back to a specific flashback, one that occurred a month into my two-year relationship with Aomine…

_My feet found its way to Aomine’s house, I was actually feeling pretty nervous despite the blank expression that plastered itself onto my face. I stared down at the piece of paper that listed down my boyfriend’s address. It had been a while since Aomine had kindly given it to me, telling me to feel free to drop by his place any time I wanted to. But it was only now that I felt like visiting him._

_After all, it was a special day today – it was January 31st, my birthday._ _It was a special day to me, and in the past, I never had someone special to spend it with but I did now._

_Aomine had basketball practice today, so he and Momoi had club activities to attend to. Hence why I had left school early seeing as I had no reason to stay, but he promised that we could meet tonight. The time was currently 5.45pm, it gave him enough time to get home from practice. I stared up at a lit window, that must be his. My hands moved to grab my handphone as I sent him a quick message, ‘I’m here at your doorstep.’ The moment I had sent that text message, a loud crashing sound was heard, followed by a string of curses._

_The voices were low but I could vaguely hear mumbles. My teal eyes widened briefly in stunned surprise from the sudden crash, my grip clenching tighter onto the bag strap slung over my shoulder as I gazed up. ‘… how peculiar.’ I couldn’t help but think._

_I was snapped out of my thoughts as the sounds of steps descended down the house, my brows scrunched together as I heard two pairs of feet instead of the expected one._

_The door swung open as a blur of pink set off out of the house. Momoi gave me a brief nod as she quickly passed, her hands firmly clasping the front of her light green sweater as she headed down the street and into a nearby house that I can only assume was her home. For one brief moment, I thought her skin was practically glowing. “_

_Yo,” I turned to see Aomine as he leaned against the door frame, sweat dripped down across his face as he wiped it off with the sleeve of the grey hoodie he was wearing. His sweatpants were practically draping onto his legs, he must have been in a rush to get dressed._ _Did he just get home from practice? That’s late, especially since it was supposed to have ended an hour ago. ‘He must have stayed back with Momoi to practice a bit more.’ “So, what brings you here, Tetsu?” He asked, raising a dark blue brow as he stared at me, mildly confused at my appearance._

_A felt a slight twinge in my heart, ‘Did he not remember? But then again, we only did start dating, so it’s only natural that he wouldn’t remember so quickly.’ “You said that I could drop by any time I wanted to,” I held up the slip of paper he had given me for him to see in clear view. “And also, you said you were free tonight and I wanted to spend my birthday with you.” I watched as the words slowly sunk into his brain._

_Aomine swore, “Damn, sorry. I forgot about that.” He told me, apologetically. “Really sorry about that, Tetsu.” He looked ashamed of himself for forgetting, it was an amusing expression on his face._

_I shook my head in response, it was fine. “No, it’s alright, Aomine-kun.” I informed me. “I didn’t really mention my birthday very much until yesterday.” I admitted._

_“_ _So, is there anything you would like to do?” Aomine asked me. “Well, at least, anything that I can still do tonight to make sure that you have the best birthday that you’ve ever had?” I found it sweet that he was still willing to try and make it the best birthday I ever had._

_“Well, I would like to watch a movie. Maybe we can watch it in your room?” His posture seemed to stiffen. Aomine took a deep gulp, he looked worried, his dark blue eyes darted up the staircase where I can only assume his room was located. “We can, can’t we?” My eyes narrowed as I studied his face, carefully. I didn’t see anything wrong with hanging out with him in his room. Unless, he was hiding something._

_Aomine scratched the back of his neck, before he finally answered, “Sure,” he said, hesitantly. “It’s a little bit messy, you know, laundry and all.” Said Aomine, leading me into the house as he shut the door behind me. I paused in my steps, waiting for him as I let him take the lead in this foreign household. Aomine brushed past me as he darted up the staircase to his room, he jogged ahead of me before disappearing through one of the doors. “I’m going to try and tidy it up a bit, so… take your time, Tetsu.” Called out his voice. I nodded to myself as I ascended up the stairway before knocking softly at his room door, the door swung open as Aomine, who had changed into a clean t-shirt, welcomed me with a smile. “Come on in, Tetsu.” He told me, ushering me inside._

_I took in his room, but it wasn’t the sight of the room that hit me first. It was the smell… it smelled, odd… a lot like sweat. ‘It’s probably from all his sportswear, that’s where that smell is coming from.’ I told myself, dismissing the thought. But a small part of me couldn’t help but sense that there was more to the smell than just sweat, however, I didn’t know what it was. My brain struggled to pinpoint it. I plopped myself down on his bed as Aomine grabbed his laptop, it was warm. ‘Feels recent.’ From the corner of my eye, I spotted a small red box on his desk, Aomine must have noticed it too because he instantly pocketed it before swiftly turning around to stare at me. My eyes darted away to the ground. “Are you done?” The question left my mouth as I stared up at him._

_He was silent for a moment before nodding, he looked as though he was assessing whether I had just seen his little action just now. “Yeah, so what do you want to watch?” Questioned Aomine, turning back to his laptop after assuming that I had seen nothing._

_The rest of the evening had been pleasant, everything else happened smoothly._

I had always assumed that the small red box was something personal to Aomine. Well, I guess I was half correct with my guess – it was personal alright, personal protection. ‘So… they’ve been doing this behind my back since the beginning (of our relationship).’

It was like a stab to my chest, my heart felt like it had been forcefully wretched out. The feeling was indescribable. Drip! My fingers moved to my face, pulling away as I stared at the water droplet that had dwindled down my face. “Am I… crying?” I whispered. My hands cupped my mouth as I let out a small laugh, was it even possible for me to cry right now? In this form? ‘Well I guess so.’ I told myself, brushing the tears away as I stared back at the pair before me.

‘So… what else am I going to discover now?’ I internally mused.

During that brief moment, I had indulged in my flashback, a minor argument had escalated between the two childhood friends. They both looked agitated, Momoi more than Aomine.

“Well, maybe you should think more about me, and my needs!” Snapped the pink haired girl. “I’ve always been there for you since the beginning, even before Kuroko Tetsumi came into the picture,” said Momoi, her voice rising. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, “Remember?” The final word came out as a whisper, a regretful one. “Our relationship has always been like this, even before you started dating her.” She was crying now. “Don’t you realise how much you’ve hurt me?” Exclaimed Momoi. “What about how I feel? I’ve always loved you, ever since we were kids.” Aomine blanched. “I was always the one there for you, not Kuroko Tetsumi.”

‘No,’ I corrected my previous conclusion. ‘This has been going on since even before me and Aomine started going out, but it didn’t stop. It’s such a pity.’ Looking at her right now, was it wrong for me to feel a bit sad for her? She loved him so much, so much that she was willing to cheat with him. Momoi did everything for Aomine, she gave him everything he ever wanted, sacrificed whatever respect she held for herself for him – even when she knew that he didn’t love her back. Even when she knew that he was in a relationship with me… her best friend.

“Stop that, Satsuki.” Said Aomine, frowning. “Stop being selfish right now,” He told her, grabbing her shoulders as he lightly shook her. “Not when Tetsu’s like this right now.” Momoi paused in her crying state as she could only stare at Aomine stunned.

To be honest, I would be too if I had just confessed my true feelings. She had practically just opened up her heart to him, and he just threw it back at her face in my defence. ‘How ironic that he only considered my feelings now… After I find myself standing right at Death-sama’s front door.’

“You’re her best friend, Satsuki, you need to be there for her. Right now, we need to care about Tetsu’s needs, not yours.” Said Aomine, sternly as he stared seriously into her pink orbs.

Momoi slapped his hands off her shoulders. She shoved him away from her, standing up abruptly. She was fuming now, “She is not my best friend.” Declared Momoi, her hands balled into fist now. “She was never my best friend, she was always going to be my rival.” Stated the pink haired girl.

Aomine sighed, “Just stop talking crap already, Satsuki. You were her best friend, remember? You guys were always doing things together for the past two years, always hanging out together.” He reminded her.

“No, Dai-chan. You don’t remember.” Retorted Momoi. “Maybe if you actually used your horny excuse of a brain, you’d realise that the only reason we always seemed to be ‘hanging’ out together was because I was already by your side, and Kuroko Tetsumi always flocked to you because she had no friends.” The facts were cold, but they were true. “So, naturally everyone would always assume that I was her ‘best friend’ because I was always seen with her, even her. But I’m not her best friend! And I never will be her best friend because I’ll always hate her guts for taking what was rightfully mine.”

“Really, Satsuki?”

Momoi was crying again, she could only stare at him. She was devastated. “Don’t you get it, Dai-chan? You were always meant to be mine. To love me, not her.” She whispered, her hands moved to wipe at her tears. There was a slight hesitation in his eyes, but Aomine eventually reached out to embrace her – comforting her…  
It was another stab to my chest.

Each hurting word stung at my heart, gnawing at my inner being more and more.

But the biggest blow was watching Aomine comfort her, even after all the spiteful things she had just said.

How could he just hold her like that? Wasn’t he defending me not just a few moments ago? It really… hurt.

Now I felt devastated.

Slowly, I was losing my will to actually live. ‘Was this what she meant?’

Riko’s voice was replayed over and over again inside my mind.

‘So, my world really was never perfect…’

I felt my back hit the wall, stunning me for a moment. I hadn’t even realised that I had been unconsciously backing away from the pair. I guess I had wanted to run away from it all, wishing it was just a dream. I felt my legs give away, crumbling to my knees but I didn’t do anything to stop them from falling. Instead, my hands moved to my face, the tears were flowing more strongly now as I felt my emotionless mask finally crack. My wails must have been loud, but of course, I was simply crying to myself.

No matter how loud I was, they would never hear me. They can never hear how much they’ve hurt me.

“But everything she said was true.” I found myself whispering. This was the fact that hurt the most.

Despite all the anger Momoi had in her words, she was right.

‘It was only me that saw her as my best friend.’

Thinking back about it, I realised that she had never once stated that I was her best friend – and it sucked.

In the past, we had some wonderful times together, memorable ones that I had captured with photographs (which hung in my bedroom), but I guess it was just me.

It was all in my mind.

“So, will you break up with her?” My ears twitched as I looked up, back at them. Somehow, they have resumed an intimate position as Momoi’s arms wrapped themselves around his neck once more. His hands, of course, were back around her waist. “It’s not like she’ll make it anyway. There’s no point continuing to date a dead girl.”

Silence before he spoke, “True.”

“What?” That voice caught everyone off guard, even me.

But the expression on Aomine and Momoi’s faces were priceless as they froze in stupor, until their stiff postures dropped as Momoi let out a sigh of relief.

Wait, what?

“Oh, it’s just you, Ki-chan.” Said Momoi, Aomine simply tsked.

It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting for a couple who had just been discovered cheating, unless…

‘He knew too?’ It was just another slap to my face as I stared at Kise Ryouta’s hardened face. ‘If he knew about it this entire time, why did he look so angry?’ I couldn’t help but wonder, my orbs deciphering his body language.

The bouquet of flowers that were in Kise’s hands dropped to the ground, instantly forgotten as the blonde lunged straight at the pair, his hands moving right for Aomine’s shirt. It happened within seconds, Kise grabbed Aomine by the collar as Momoi fell to the ground. The expression on the girl’s face was stunned, she was shocked by the roughness displayed in Kise’s actions. To be fair, so was I. Never before had I seen him react so violently like this, or even ever once show me a side of him aside from his bright, joyous self whenever we met up. On the other hand, Aomine didn’t seem that shocked at all, his expression hardening instead.

“What are you doing, Kise?” He asked, but there was something about the way he said it that hinted to me that he already knew the answer to his own question.

“What do you mean Kurokoicchi is already a dead girl? Why are you breaking up with her?” Each word seemed to fly out of his lips, his anger levels rising as his grip on Aomine’s shirt tightened. “How could you do this to her? How can you just throw her away like that? Especially at a time like this when she needs you the most.” Demanded Kise, heatedly.

“Is that it?” Aomine’s response seemed to have caught everyone off guard as he replied in a nonchalant tone. “Is that really why you got so riled up, Kise?” Quizzed Aomine. “Why do you care so much about what happens between me and Tetsu, Kise? It’s only between the two of us, not you. You don’t need to worry your pretty little mind about it.” He told him, but his eyes narrowed. “Unless, there’s another reason why you’re so hung up about Tetsu and me.” He pressed, scanning the blonde’s face. “Is there?”

His answers seemed to have caught Kise off guard as the blonde released the tanned teen from his grip. He took a step back from him, yet his golden eyes never pulled away from Aomine’s inspecting gaze. “What do you mean, Aomineicchi? I’m just worried about her like any friend would be.” Said Kise, his hand moved to pick up the flowers he had previously dropped. “Why wouldn’t I be here? I heard that a friend of mine was in a terrible car accident, so, of course I would come and visit. I’d do the same if it was for you too, Aomineicchi.” Reasoned the blonde. “In fact, I would do it for anyone.” He was blabbering now, even I could tell and I’ve known him for an even less time than Aomine and Momoi did.

‘Kise seems… nervous.’ It wasn’t a word that I would normally pair with the blonde part-time model.

From the moment I first met him, Kise had always been a ball brimming full of excitement, just waiting to burst. The male practically oozed of confidence and he knew it. We didn’t attend the same the middle school, and I had only met him after I started dating Aomine during our first year at Touo Gakuen. To be honest, the memory of our first meeting made me a smile a little.

Thinking back about it, the atmosphere was completely different from what was going on right now.

_It was a Saturday, one of those rare days that I had asked Aomine to accompany me somewhere (– to be exact, it was just to a bookshop)._

_We were on our way back to Aomine’s house when a random voice on the street had called out to us (well, Aomine). I didn’t recognise it, but the paled expression on my boyfriend’s face clearly indicated that he knew exactly who was reaching out to him. He grabbed my hand, “Quickly, Tetsu, let’s get out of here before that puppy dog comes here.” Stated the taller teen as he began to lead us away. Well, he attempted to._

_A hand placed itself over Aomine’s shoulder, the teen looked defeated (he swore beneath his breath)._

_"Where do you think you’re going, Aomineicchi?” Said a tall blonde teen, he was smiling._ _His smile was practically blinding, and for one brief moment, I was seriously convinced the blonde was emitting sparkles. That was just how much his presence shone through beneath his skin, and it was evident that other people noticed him too. Some had begun to take out their cameras. He stood out, and he must be used to it because his smile never once flattered. “Isn’t it rude to ignore me? Especially since we haven’t seen each other since our middle school graduation!” Pouted the stranger._

_That expression made me snicker, I couldn’t hold it in as my hand moved to cover my lips. The blonde’s golden eyes widened as they narrowed in on my being, suddenly noticing that I was there. What happened next, well it was a natural reaction I got whenever someone finally realises I’m there. His lips struggled to say anything, but when it finally did, he was loud._

_“_ _It’s a ghost!” He exclaimed. His voice was incredibly loud, catching the attention of almost everyone on the street as heads swivelled around to see._

_Aomine punched the blonde lightly at the side, “Oi, shut up, Kise.” Snapped back Aomine, he was already annoyed enough. “This isn’t a ghost,” said the dark blue haired teen as he glanced down at my face. “This is my girlfriend, Kuroko Tetsumi.” He introduced, was it just me or was he actually kind of shy about it?_

_‘Adorable.’ I bowed politely at the person, now identified as Kise. “A pleasure to meet you.” A small smile found its way onto my lips as I looked back at Aomine’s face, “I’m not a ghost, huh?” I mused teasingly, despite my monotonous tone. “You didn’t seem to agree when we first met.” I lightly reminded him._

_“Well, who reads in the gym alone after school hours?”_

_“People who want silence.” Was my reply as my teal blue eyes flickered back to Kise._

_Kise was silent for a brief moment, his golden eyes seemed to be assessing me. They looked confused before his gaze moved to meet Aomine’s. For a while, they just didn’t speak. It was as though they were communicating with their minds, but Kise broke away from it first. A grin decorated his lips as he held out his hand for me, “I’m Kise Ryouta,” he told me as I shook his hand. “I’m Aomineicchi’s former teammate from middle school, but you probably already know that. Aomineicchi and Momoicchi probably talk about me all the time!” I shook my head. “Eh?” Exclaimed the teen, he looked hurt as he stared back at Aomine. “Why didn’t you ever talk about me?”_

_Aomine scowled, “Who would want to talk about you?”_

_“But I’m a famous teen model right now! I’m everywhere in the media.”_

Yeah, Kise had always been vocal about everything.

It was from then onwards that the blonde would seem to interfere with my life, but I always welcomed his bubbly presence in a way. Whenever Aomine and Momoi were too busy to spend time with me, Kise would oddly always message me to offer his company instead (whenever he had the time). Sure, I didn’t always accept it (because I felt like all the train rides to Tokyo inconvenienced him), but it was nice to know that he was there for me. However, now that I think about it, maybe it was all out of pity…

After all, he knew about them – about the cheating.

Maybe that was why he was so quiet when we first met, when Aomine first introduced me to him as his girlfriend. Perhaps, he already knew that Aomine’s heart wasn’t fully in this relationship since the start but didn’t have the heart to tell me because this was just a ship slowly sinking away. ‘All those little things Kise did… they were to make up for Aomine’s lack of commitment.’ I finally understood.

But it still didn’t provide me an answer for the tense atmosphere before me.

Aomine looked… angered, he seemed riled up. A complete 180 degrees turn from his previous expressions, I felt mildly offended that he wasn’t like this a few moments ago when he dismissively defended me from Momoi snide verbal remarks. What’s going on? Even Momoi seemed to be confused as well.

“Really? So, you’d come to anyone’s aid when they need it? Even though you already had a day full of modelling jobs… you just didn’t mind coming all the way here, even though it’s almost midnight?” Asked Aomine, he raised a brow. Kise stiffened in his stance. “Well, I’m sorry but I don’t think that I can believe that, Kise.” He told him.

Kise’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean, Aomineicchi?” His tone never wavered, but anyone could tell that he was cautious now.

“Why don’t you just drop the act already, Kise,” said Aomine, he scowled at Kise. “I already know how you truly feel about Tetsu, it’s so obvious. I didn’t have to be a genius to even find out.” He told him. “You know, I’ve always had that suspicion that you liked her,” he declared boldly, stunning everyone present. “But you only confirmed it by always latching onto her, messaging her and inviting her out, and it really pisses me off, Kise. Because unless you’ve forgotten, she’s mine.” He snapped. “She’s my girlfriend, not yours.”

Words couldn’t form in my mind, I just didn’t know how to react to that revelation.

However, Kise did.

The blonde dropped the bouquet and flew right at Aomine, within seconds his fist had collided with the tanned male’s cheeks, sending him straight into a cluster of chairs. But Kise didn’t just stop there, he actually got onto Aomine as the pair began to tumble to the ground, their fist flying everywhere. There was a loud impact, Aomine had managed to return Kise’s punch to the blonde’s cheek.

Looking at his face… ‘Is Kise crying?’

I was lost for words as I watched the blonde try to level up to Aomine, but it was obvious that the tanned teen was more experienced in brawls and clearly had the upper hand against his friend. Momoi moved to try and separate them, she called out to Aomine but it fell deaf on his ears. He was angry, like a beast as he just continued to punch back at Kise.

“You don’t get it, Aomineicchi,” exclaimed Kise, speaking up. “You don’t know how much pain you caused me. Both of you.” His eyes turning to look at Momoi. She looked surprised by that bold statement. Aomine was now on top of Kise, the blonde’s back pressed against the ground, his cheek bruised. “Kurokoicchi is such a sweet girl, she’s probably one of the nicest and most selfless girls I’ve ever met.” The tears were really falling now. “At first, I wanted to keep her company because I didn’t want her to feel lonely whenever you were with Momoicchi. But the more I spent time with her, the more I started to fall in love with her, and the fact that you were going behind her back with Momoicchi… – it just pissed me off so much!” It was like the pent-up anger inside of him was finally exploding, renewing his strength to fight back at Aomine. “Why couldn’t it be me? Why did she have to love a cheating asshole like you?”

“Ki-chan, stop!”

“No,” snapped back Kise. “You both don’t understand how bad I felt knowing that I could never tell her about you two. I’m done playing the nice guy.”

“Kise-san…” The words left my lips, my hands moved to cover lips. ‘I’m so sorry for causing you so much pain these past two years… but also, thank you.’

I know he couldn’t hear me, but I prayed that deep down, he could at least understand that I was grateful for everything he did for me. I prayed that somehow my feelings got to him, he deserved to know… ‘Thank you so much for trying to protect me, even if all it did was hurt you inside.’ I knew how painful it was to watch Aomine and Momoi, but it must have hurt even more for him, especially since he had to keep it all secret from me. There must have been so many instances when he wanted to just reveal it all, get it all over with – but he never did. He was loyal, and it was returned by a painful price.

All those times he smiled so brightly, I never realised how much pain and conflict was hidden beneath his perfect mask.

Loud hurried footsteps approached us, their stomps becoming louder and louder.

“Hey, you guys again?” Shouted the voice of the Head Security Guard as the aged man rounded the corner, someone must have reported the scuffle to them. This must be the response team. “Alright you two, break it up. This isn’t a playground for you both to play around, you’re being a nuisance. Hell, it’s not even visiting hours yet.” Said the man, two of his men went to Kise’s side, grabbing him by his arms. Two other guards did the same to Aomine. “Oh god, it’s you again.” Noted the man as he stared at both Aomine and Momoi. “Alright, you’re all out of here.” He told them. “Let’s go.” He was done with them.

Kise started to protest, “But I just got here!”

“Well, you should have thought of that before you started fighting in here.” Snarked back the elder man. He must have been tired, it’s already been an eventful night after what happened in the ICU. “Alright, let’s go.” He began to forcefully usher them out.

It was only Kise who was complaining, the other two departed wordlessly.

Somehow, I found my strength to move again.

I stood up, my knees wobbling at first before stabilising. I hadn’t realised how frozen I had been, just watching them all until now. My feet moved, I followed them until the main entrance of the hospital, it didn’t look like I was going to see them for a while. As much as I wanted to follow them, something within me compelled me not to go out. There was just this internal fear that if I did, it was all over for me.

‘I would instantly be dead…’ Yet, death didn’t seem so bad right now.

When I had faced Riko just now, I had strongly held onto my will to live because I thought that I would be welcomed back into the arms of my loving boyfriend and best friend – but that was just a lie… ‘Everything was a lie. I can’t even tell for sure if Aomine even loves me, and I now know for a fact that Momoi hates me.’ Out of three of my reasons for living, two had just come crumbling down. ‘And Kise-san… He said he loved me, but I don’t love him and I feel like I had already burdened him enough.’ Sure, it was his decision to keep me from being lonely, but at first, it wasn’t really because he wanted to be with me. It was because of guilt.

So, in a way, I was just a burden.

A rasped laugh escaped my lips, “Why am I so pitiful?” Tears were dropping down my face again, maybe it was time to just head back to the ICU. It had already been an eventful night.

I turned away.

“Hey isn’t that Kaijou’s ace, Kise Ryouta, and Touo’s ace, Aomine Daiki?” That voice. I hadn’t heard it in years, not since elementary school.

“Yeah, it is them. Touo’s manager, Momoi Satsuki is there with them too.” My body froze, my head slowly turned as I stared at the two teens that stood at the edge of the hallway. “Apparently they got into a fight or something.” Said the shorter teen, his black hair contrasting against the hospital’s white walls. “But still, it’s so rare to actually see them somewhere outside basketball.” Mused the teen.

“True.” His companion agreed.

I found myself jogging towards them, their features becoming clearer by the second. Then, they were in front of me – Takao Kazunari and Ogiwara Shigehiro, my first two friends. My childhood friends, my neighbours.

‘Why are they here?’ I’d admit we all used to be close.

In a way, our relationship mirrored Aomine and Momoi’s. But unfortunately, unlike theirs, our bond started to break apart early on during middle school.

We were close in elementary, but by the time we started middle school, things had begun to change. We were still neighbours (even till now), but Ogiwara had been sent to a boarding school in a different prefecture and Takao found himself playing basketball after school. This had left me all alone.

At first, I still had Takao considering we went to the same institution, but by the end of middle school, we just didn’t speak anymore. Not to mention that once I started dating Aomine, I hadn’t exactly bothered to reach out to them anymore. I had solely become reliant on Aomine for support and comfort. Maybe that’s why I can’t help but wonder, ‘Why are you here?’

Especially when I had been so cold to both of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly but surely, more characters will start to come in as the plot thickens. It'll take a while for me to update this.

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to finish this story, so here it is.


End file.
